Students often do not want to draw an animal because "mine will look funny". I know the feeling. So with this ARTS STARTS the animal is done for them. Their job is to put the animal in its proper habitat. The habitat should have what the environment looks like, a food source, a place to escape from danger, and a source of water.
This ART STARTS folder has 67 different pictures of animals taken from the computer. Each has its own page so you can pick and choose the ones you want. Just pop them out of the folder insert the whole bunch in the copier and make one copy each so that each child has a different animal. The animals come from different countries and different continents. Some are land, or sea animals and some birds. Some of the animals are well known and some have the names included.
The students will need to do a little research in the encyclopedia and find where their animal lives and what kind of environment is it. Is it a desert environment, forested, arctic, etc? They should find out what the animals food source is and make sure that that is included in the picture. You could require them to have a shelter from harm and a source of water also. Then let them go. The animal is done for them, all they have to do is draw around the animal.
Then when they are all finished find a binder. Put in the title page which is included and put their pictures behind it. Leave the book on a back table and watch the children find times to go back and enjoy "their" book.
Age Appropriate 2nd Grade-7th Grade
